Bait holding attachment for fishhook

ABSTRACT

A bait holding device is used to comprises a thin piece of wire having a generally central loop or U-shaped bend, with a small length of free ends of the wire being bent again into a V- or U-shape so as to form a hook-like portion at each of the two ends of the wire. The hook-like portions serve to secure the bait in place with respect to the hook, but do so without themselves damaging the bait. The thin wire may be secured by means of a small ferrule which is formed around both shanks of the wire near the central bend. The bait holding device may be attached to the eye of the fishhook, or may be attached about the shank so that it can freely slide along the shank between the eye and the barb of the hook. The wire used for the bait holding device is much thinner than the wire used to make the fishhook.

This invention relates to an improved bait holding attachment forfishhooks. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved,simplified arrangement for securing bait, both natural and artificial,onto a fishhook in different positions.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

In the field of sportfishing, a great variety of fishhooks have beendeveloped, and similarly, a great number of different techniques havebeen developed for attaching bait to the hook. Some of the prior deviceshave been designed for use only with live bait, while others have beendesigned for artificial bait. Of course some such devices will work withboth live and artificial bait.

The present invention is particularly suited for use with artificialbait, and more particularly with so-called soft plastic baits such asplastic worms, crawfish, grubs, snakes, and the like. In general, thetextures of such baits are rather soft and of uniform texture.Frequently the baits are made to be very soft to more closely simulate anatural or living creature. The use of soft baits has grown tremendouslyin recent years, because of the improved technologies of the plasticsused. The baits have become softer, and have also become more flexible.

Unfortunately, the use of soft, flexible plastic baits tends to giverise to more difficulty in keeping the bait on the hook. A soft,flexible bait generally is easier to tear or break as it is pulledthrough underwater brush, rocks, weeds, etc. As a result, the bait mustbe changed more frequently and the costs to the fisherman can increase.Some of the more common techniques used for attaching the bait to thehook involve passing the hook and barb completely through the body ofthe bait. In some techniques, only the tip of the hook is embedded inthe soft plastic, while in other techniques, most of the shank of thehook is embedded.

One prior technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,334,381 of Carver,et al, and the technique used only involves the point of the hook beingembedded in the soft plastic. To secure the bait in the desiredposition, the hook utilizes an additional element which is a straight,rigid rod attached to the eye of the hook. The rod has a number of barbsalong the shank, and is inserted axially into the end of a bait such asa plastic worm. In this manner, the rigid rod secures the head end ofthe worm, while the point of the hook is embedded into the body of theworm. The rod, while being rigid, has one end pivotally attached to theeye of the hook, so that it has some degree of movement, but once thebait is secured, no significant further movement is possible, since therigidity of the rod prevents substantial flexing of the bait. Further,since the rod is rigid and straight, some rigging techniques whichutilize a curved worm body are to some extent inhibited by this type ofhook arrangement. The rigid rod is also of a diameter substantially thesame as, or even larger than, the diameter of the hook. This can causetearing of the end of the worm during use, with the result that the wormwould be discarded early.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to providean improved bait attaching device for fishing lures.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved baitattaching device for fishhooks which overcomes the disadvantages of theprior art.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a flexiblebait securing device for fishhooks.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bait attachingdevice which securely holds the bait in place, but which nonethelessretains a significant degree of flexibility.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an improved baitsecuring device which may be attached either to the eye of the hook ormay be attached to the shank of the hook so that it may be used toattach the bait closer to the throat of the hook.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent from a detailed consideration of the following description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, the bait holding device comprises athin piece of wire having a generally central loop or U-shaped bend,with a small length of the free ends of the wire being bent again into aV- or U-shape so as to form a hook-like portion at each of the two endsof the wire. The hook-like portions serve to secure the bait in placewith respect to the hook, but do so without themselves damaging thebait. The thin wire may be secured by means of a small ferrule which isformed around both shanks of the wire near the central bend. The baitholding device may be attached to the eye of the fishhook, or may beattached about the shank so that it can freely slide along the shankbetween the eye and the barb of the hook. The wire used for the baitholding device is much thinner than the wire used to make the fishhook,and is typically about 0.020 inch diameter.

The ferrule may be formed of metal or plastic, and may serve multiplefunctions as well. For example, if the ferrule is formed of lead, it mayserve as a weight. The ferrule may be attached by hand, for example, toa hook so that the bait securing device may be attached to any hook bythe user. Alternatively, the device may be attached by the hookmanufacturer. Further, the ferrule may be formed of molded plastic,which is of course lightweight. The ferrule can also be hollow andcontain small beads which then function as a rattle to generate noisewhen the lure is moved through the water. The ferrule may be a loose fitaround the wires, such that it can slide along the wires, or it may betightly crimped in place.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in greater detail, with reference tothe accompanying drawings which show by way of non-limiting example, apreferred form of the invention, and in which:

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are enlarged views illustrating the steps in themanufacture of a bait securing device according to this invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fishhook showing the bait securingdevice attached to the eye of the hook;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a plastic worm bait secured to a fishhookusing the bait securing device of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the bait securingdevice showing the manner in which the device is embedded in the bait;and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an alternative manner of attachingthe bait securing device to a fishhook.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As best seen in FIGS. 1-3, a piece of wire 10 with a diameter of about0.020" is bent so as to form a loop 12 near the mid-point of the wire10. It is preferable to form the loop 12 slightly offset from theprecise mid-point, in order that the ends 14, 14' will be slightlyoffset from each other. Most fishing hooks are made from wire having adiameter on the order of about 0.060-0.070 inch, i.e. significantlygreater than that of the wire used in this invention.

A ferrule 16 is then positioned around the wire 10 near the loop 12. Asindicated, this ferrule may metal or plastic sleeve, in which case itmay be slipped over the double wire ends before the bends are formed, ormay be a molded metal or plastic element. In addition, when the ferruleis preformed and slipped over the wire ends, once the wire ends 14, 14'are bent in the manner shown in FIG. 3, the bends serve to hold theferrule on the wires without crimping. The ferrule may also be formed insuch a manner that it does not slide on the wires once it is formed, asby being crimped in place.

Finally, the wire is bent near the ends 14, 14' so as to form smallrecurved portions in the nature of hooks 18 as seen in FIG. 3. Whilethese bends may be U-shaped, in some cases it is preferable that they besharper bends, more in the nature of V-shaped bends. In this manner, the"V" forms a point to facilitate insertion of the wires into the end ofthe bait.

The bend 12 of the wire 10 may be formed around the eye 26 of afishhook, and in such case, the bait securing device 20 is attached tothe fishhook 22 in the manner shown in FIG. 4. The small diameter of thewire of the device 20 does not interfere with tying a fishing line 24 tothe eye 26. The wire 10 is considerably smaller in diameter than thewire which forms the fishhook, for example about a third of the diameterof the fishhook. In this manner, the wire need not be rigid, and is muchmore flexible than the fishhook with which it is used.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the fishhook 22 has an eye 26 which isattached to a fishing line 28, and the small wire ends 18 are embeddedin the end of the bait, such as a plastic worm 30. Ordinarily theferrule 16 would not be embedded in worm 30, although it is small enoughthat it would not damage the worm should the angler choose to embed theferule in the end of the worm 30. In the case in which the ferrule ishollow and contains a freely moving bead inside the ferrule, the beadand ferrule would function as a rattle, which serves as an additionalfish attractant. Other fish attractants could also be used instead ofworms, for example strands of rubber or bundles of hair, both of whichare commonly used on fishing lures. In such case, the hooks will helpprevent the fish attractant from being pulled off of the lure. Theability to attach other types of baits or attractants with greatflexibility is an important feature of this invention.

In an alternate embodiment, the bait securing device may be attachedaround the shank of the hook as seen in FIG. 7. While in appearance thiswould be similar to a so-called trailer hook, the bait attaching devicemerely serves to secure the bait, and is not of sufficient strength orsize to serve as a fish catching hook. Different baits or bait riggingstyles require attachment of the bait in different positions, and asseen in FIG. 7, the bait may be attached behind or below the hookwithout the fishhook actually penetrating the bait. This arrangementbetter positions the fish attractant in relation to the point of thehook for better presentation, and to both conceal the hook and preventit from being easily snagged on obstructions. For example, in the caseof a so-called "swimming worm" technique, the midpoint of the plasticworm could be attached to the bait holding device a distance away fromthe end of the plastic worm at any point along the worm. In any case,the smaller diameter wire of the hook will prevent damage to a softplastic bait, while still adequately securing the bait.

While this invention has been described as having certain preferredfeatures and embodiments, it will be understood that it is capable ofstill further variation and modification without departing from thespirit of the invention, and this application is intended to cover anyand all variations, modifications and adaptations which may fall withinthe spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A bait holding device for use in combination with a fishhook, comprising a length of wire having a mid-point and having a firstand second end, a loop formed in the wire offset from the mid-point, thefirst end having a curved portion offset from the loop by a firstdistance, the second end having a curved portion offset from the loop bya second distance, a ferrule encompassing the wire between said loop andsaid first and second ends, said ferrule comprising a cavity and a beadcontained therein.
 2. The bait holding device of claim 1 furthercomprising a fishing hook having an eye portion, a shank portion and ahook portion, the eye portion of said hook being engaged with the loopof said bait holding device.
 3. The combination of claim 2 wherein saidlength of wire has a diameter of about one third the diameter of thefishing hook.
 4. The bait holding device of claim 1 wherein said lengthof wire has a diameter of about 0.020 inch.
 5. The bait holding deviceof claim 1 wherein said ferrule serves to pivotally secure the baitholding device to the fishing hook.
 6. The bait holding device of claim1 further comprising a lure body removably attached to the first andsecond ends.
 7. The combination of a fishhook and a bait holding device,said fishhook having an eye portion at one end, an intermediate shankportion and a book portion terminating in a point, and said bait holdingdevice comprising a length of wire having a diameter significantly lessthan the wire of the fishhook, said bait holding device having a bendforming a loop near the midpoint thereof for encircling the wire formingsaid fishhook and two ends having small terminal bends, and a ferrulemember secured to said bait holding device between said loop and saidterminal bends for pivotally securing said bait holding device to saidfishhook, wherein said ferrule comprises a cavity with a bead containedtherein and is molded around the wire forming the bait holding device.8. The combination of claim 7 and wherein said bait holding device isattached to said eye portion of said fishhook.
 9. The combination ofclaim 1 and wherein said bait holding device is attached to said shankportion of said fishhook.
 10. The combination of claim 7 and whereinsaid ferrule comprises a weight secured around said wire comprising saidbait holding device.
 11. The combination of claim 7 and wherein the wireforming said bait holding device has a diameter about one-third that ofthe wire forming the fishhook.
 12. The combination of claim 7 andwherein said ferrule is a lead weight immovably affixed to said wirecomprising said bait holding device.
 13. The combination of claim 7wherein the two ends of the bait holding device are at an offsetdistance from the bend forming a loop in the wire forming the baitholding device.
 14. The combination of a fishhook and a bait securingdevice, said fishhook having an eye portion at one end, an intermediateshank portion and a hook portion terminating in a point, and said baitsecuring device comprising a length of wire having a diametersignificantly less than the wire of the fishhook, said bait securingdevice having a bend forming a loop near the midpoint thereof forencircling a portion of said fishhook and two ends having small terminalU-bends, and a ferrule member surrounding and secured to said two endsbetween said loop and said terminal bends for retaining said baitholding device on said fishhook, and said ferrule member being hollowand enclosing a rattle.